


The Company of Wolves

by ivorydice



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Gen, Hurt!noctis, HurtNoctWeek, Swearing, Vomiting, ignis and gladio and cor show up verrry briefly, kid!Noct, kind of surreal, the slightest hint of gore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-02
Updated: 2018-03-02
Packaged: 2019-03-25 18:26:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13840461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivorydice/pseuds/ivorydice
Summary: It was silent like the world had been abandoned, like he was the last one alive, and yet he didn’t feel like he was alone out here. It was a strange feeling, made him shiver, made his stomach twist with nerves.He just had to focus on surviving. Survive long enough for his dad and the crownsguard to find him, or for him to find his way back to them. Then he could go home and put this whole mess behind him.After a failed kidnapping attempt that leaves him stranded, eleven year old Noctis has to try and survive on his own until help arrives.ForHurtNoctWeek Day 1: Captured by Niflheim.





	The Company of Wolves

**Author's Note:**

> ~~You have no idea how ashamed of this fic I am, I nearly didn't post it, and then my internet cut off and then I _double_ nearly didn't post it.~~
> 
> This fic fought with me tooth and nail. A shame, because I loved the initial feeling/inspiration I had for it. And so I might return to this, or rewrite it at some point, if I ever manage to find a way to do the original concept justice.
> 
> But hopefully, for now, someone finds some enjoyment in this as it is <3
> 
> (I've also been editing it/reading over it while half asleep, so good god this is all probably a mess lol).

  
  
When Noctis opened his eyes, he had no idea where he was and his head felt like it was going to explode.  
  
He lay there on his back, trying to figure out what he was staring up at. Moving his eyes around didn’t help, it only made him feel dizzier, more confused. He didn’t dare move, not when his head was hurting so much, ears ringing with a high pitched noise, his skull throbbing in time with his heartbeat. He thought he might throw up.  
  
So he lay still, fighting against the overwhelming urge to go back to sleep, and against the confusion and the _fear_ at the fact that he didn’t know where he was or how he had gotten there in the first place. The last thing he remembered was…  
  
What _was_ the last thing he remembered?  
  
Ignis. He could remember Ignis, helping him prepare for his trip with his tutor and his guards. Ignis had been in a huff about the whole thing, annoyed that he couldn’t go along, and Noctis had found it incredibly funny at the time. Mostly because Ignis didn’t _show_ that he was annoyed, but there were signs in the way he would mutter, would grumble about how the trip had been ‘ill-timed’.  
  
_“You really wanna go that badly?” Noctis asked. He was struggling to fight back a smile, had to pretend he had an itchy nose to cover it up whenever it was too hard to keep it hidden._ _  
_ _  
_ _Ignis did that huffy thing he did sometimes, that sharp sigh and sideways glance. “It’s not so much the lesson I would like to attend.”_ _  
_ _  
_ _Noctis blinked. “Then what?”_ _  
_ _  
_ _“You’re going beyond the Wall,” Ignis said, squaring his shoulders, looking about as impressive as a near-thirteen year old could be. Which, considering how skinny Ignis was, wasn’t really that impressive at all. “What if you have need of me and I’m not there to attend you?”_ _  
_ _  
_ _Noctis snorted at that, then quickly squashed down his smile at Ignis’s unimpressed look. “It’s only gonna be for a couple of hours. And I’ll have guards with me the whole time. It’ll be fine.”_ _  
_ _  
_ _Ignis stared at him in silence then, raising a single eyebrow, and Noctis swallowed down his nervousness, fighting back the urge to twitch his thumbs together where they were tangled in his lap. Sometimes he hated how it seemed like Ignis could see right through him._ _  
_ _  
_ _So he squared his own shoulders, lifting his chin the way Ignis did sometimes when he was talking to adults and trying to seem more mature. “I’ll be fine,” he said, and that was the end of that._ _  
_ _  
_ But it wasn’t fine. Why was that the last thing he could actually remember? Noctis grimaced, bit back the urge to sob. He raised his hand to press it to his aching head, then found that his arm ached too. In the dull light, he could see a shape on the inside of his elbow, a bruise forming around a small dot.  
  
Like a needle had been stuck in his arm. He’d had enough doctors and nurses poking and prodding at him over the years to recognize what it looked like.  
  
He thought he could remember something like that. Hands and arms holding him down while something pricked at his arm—  
  
No, that wasn’t good. And if that was true, if that was an actual memory, then that meant he had to get out of here because it wasn’t _safe_.  
  
He took it slowly, getting his hands underneath him and pushing himself up into a sitting position. It _hurt_ , oh _god_ , his head hurt so badly, and he couldn’t stop the whine in his throat. It was like it was weighed down by something, too heavy to lift up, but he did lift it. He fought back the nausea and the dizziness and he sat upright, taking deep breaths the whole time.  
  
Slowly, he looked around. The walls, the floor, the ceiling, it all seemed to be made of metal. There was a door to his right, except it was too high to reach, and it didn’t even touch the floor. Which meant—  
  
Which meant he was upside down. He was sitting on the ceiling.  
  
Noctis looked to his left, and froze. Two men dressed in some sort of uniform lay still nearby, the nearest with his eyes wide open and staring at the ceiling without blinking, and the other’s head was at such an awkward angle, it made Noctis feel sick to see it.  
  
They looked like soldiers, they looked like—  
  
There was an open door behind them, raised above the ground like a roof, shielding a lot of the outside world. Except, if they were upside down, then that door should have been a ramp, like the ones that lowered to the ground, the ones that let off soldier after soldier to attack and fire at innocent people—  
  
Noctis tried to breathe slowly. He could remember bits and pieces now. It had been like Tenebrae all over again. It had been like that daemon attack all over again. He and his tutor had been walking slowly, talking together about the Wall and about magic and about duty, and Noctis had only been half-paying attention, hating having the reminders shoved in his face, of the King’s duty to maintain the Wall, his _dad’s_ duty, and what it did to him in return to keep their city safe.  
  
And then there had been a low humming in the sky, and the airship had come, and then it had fired at them. Bullets raining down on them, taking out some of his guards, smashing up their cars as they ran for cover, and then, _and then_ , the ramp had lowered, and those robot soldiers had come piling out.  
  
And they had tried to run, he and his tutor and a few other guards, while the rest of them fought off the metal soldiers coming for them. Except it hadn’t worked. The other soldiers, the _human_ soldiers, had caught up. They had hurt the men surrounding Noctis with a few simple shots from their guns, and they had caught up with him when he had been told to keep running. They had dragged him away and onto their ship while he had kicked and screamed and yelled.  
  
He really, _really_ had to get out of here.  
  
Wherever _here_ was.  
  
Noctis closed his eyes, just wanting to rest for a moment, and then snapped them back open when he became too dizzy, when he nearly lost his balance. Okay, so no sleeping. No resting his eyes, not even for a second. He had to get up and get out of the airship before anyone else came by. Would Niflheim have backup soldiers coming to find him? Would they be sending more airships?  
  
Oh god, would his dad be able to find him? Would the crownsguard? He could remember one of his guards saying something about getting a message to the crownsguard, that they were on their way, but that had been _before_ the robots had dropped down from the airship, and who knew how long ago that was now.  
  
And now they might never be able to find him.  
  
Noctis patted his pockets, searching for his phone, frustrated when he couldn’t find it. The soldiers must have taken it, must have smashed it up, or—  
  
No, he had dropped it. When he had been running back in the direction of the main gate to the city, he had dug it out of his pocket, had tried to call his dad, desperate to know what to do. Then he had dropped it once those arms had wrapped around him and had dragged him away.  
  
He wished he hadn’t even tried. If he hadn’t, if he had just left it alone, then he could have still had the phone on him now, and his dad and the crownsguard could have tracked him down that way.  
  
Well, he couldn’t just stay here and wait to see if they would find him. Other soldiers might come for him, not to mention when it got dark the daemons would be coming out. There was no way he could fight against the daemons, no way he ever wanted to _see_ any.  
  
Unless they had crashed back into Insomnia, which meant that help would be on its way. But then wouldn’t it have arrived by now?  
  
Noctis shook his head, then groaned when that hurt too much. What would Gladio tell him to do? What would Ignis tell him? He tried to think, even though it was so hard with the way it felt like his brain was throbbing.  
  
They would...they would tell him to work out where he was first, right? Work out whether he was safe or not. He could do that. All he would have to do would be to get to his feet, step over those dead bodies and walk outside.  
  
Right.  
  
It was slow, and it was hard. His body felt far too heavy, his feet not quite going where he wanted them to. He clung to the wall as he pushed himself up, and he continued to cling to it as he had to double over to throw up his breakfast. He scrunched his face up at the taste and pressed his cheek to the cool metal of the wall, fighting back the urge to cry in frustration. He had to be strong, like his dad.  
  
He could get through this.  
  
It was a slow trek across the ship. He clung to the wall and kept his eyes forward, carefully stepping over the stiff limbs of the dead soldiers, his heart pounding in his chest at the idea that they were just pretending, trying to trick him, that they would jump alive at any moment.  
  
But they didn’t jump alive. They didn’t so much as twitch.  
  
And then he was stepping outside, his sneakers coming into contact with leaves and dirt and branches, and he squinted in the bright light as he ventured further out. It was a forest, a lush green, thick and vast and extending in every direction, with no buildings in sight, no signs of life anywhere. Light broke through the gaps in the leaves high above, slivers of a bright blue sky barely visible.  
  
Noctis felt his heart sinking. Where _was_ he? How far away had they brought him?  
  
_It doesn’t matter_ , he told himself. He just had to keep moving, that was all. He had to find somewhere that would be safe for him.  
  
But which way to go? Every direction looked the same, endless trees surrounding him. But they couldn’t go on forever, right? So if he just chose a direction and kept going in it, then he was bound to come across something different. Right?  
  
He scrubbed his eyes with his hands. He just didn’t know what to _do_.  
  
Keep moving, that’s what he had to do. Gladio would tell him to stay strong and keep moving. Ignis too, he would tell him to stay alert and do everything he had to do to survive. His survival and his safety was what was most important.  
  
Noctis sighed and chose a direction. He would go straight forward from the airship’s doorway. Sooner or later, he would have to come across _something_. It wasn’t like the whole world was covered in trees.  
  
But there was something _strange_ about this place. The skin on the back of his neck crawled the further he got away from the airship. He winced at every twig he stepped on, every time his sneakers kicked up some leaves. It was just so _quiet_ here, the silence almost thick and suffocating. There wasn’t even the sounds of any birds above or little animals scurrying on the ground.  
  
And yet, somehow, he didn’t feel alone. It was silent like the world had been abandoned, like he was the last one alive, and yet he didn’t feel like he was alone out here. It was a strange feeling, made him shiver, made his stomach twist with nerves.  
  
He just had to focus on surviving. Survive long enough for his dad and the crownsguard to find him, or for him to find his way back to them. Then he could go home and put this whole mess behind him.  
  
  
~ &~  
  
  
_“You aren’t listening,” his tutor said, “are you?”_ _  
_ _  
_ _Noctis blinked up at him guiltily. “I am.”_ _  
_ _  
_ _“Then what did I just say?”_ _  
_ _  
_ _“Uh…” Noctis glanced over at the Wall, trying to remember, then grimaced and said, “my grandfather pulled the Wall back around twenty years ago?”_ _  
_ _  
_ _“That was not what I had said.” His tutor sighed heavily, and Noctis bit his lip, hung his head, feeling a slight twinge of shame in his chest. It wasn’t that he didn’t_ want _to listen. It was just hard to hear it._ _  
_ _  
_ _His tutor tapped him on the shoulder, smiling down at him faintly, wrinkled eyes scrunching up kindly. “But I am glad you have been listening at some point. I know this can be hard to listen to, Your Highness, but these studies are important. It’s best you know them well, and by heart, even before your training with magic begins.”_ _  
_ _  
_ _Noctis stared at him, then nodded. “Okay. I’m sorry.”_ _  
_ _  
_ _His tutor gave him another small smile, tipping his head forward for a moment in a nod. Then he frowned, looked up at the sky behind Noctis, squinting in the light._ _  
_ _  
_ _Noctis turned, curious. “What’s that?” There was a small shape in the sky, beyond the large, long bridge that connected Insomnia to the rest of Lucis._ _  
_ _  
_ _And it seemed to be getting closer, heading in their direction, a low humming noise growing louder and louder the bigger the object became._ _  
_ _  
_ _“This way,” his tutor snapped out suddenly, and then his hand was wrapped around Noctis’s wrist, dragging him back towards the cars a short distance away._ _  
_ _  
_ _“Your Highness!” one of the guards was shouting at the same time. “Back to the cars, now!”_ _  
_ _  
_ _“Why? What is it?” Noctis stumbled as they ran, looked up at the shape approaching them. It was faster than he had expected, and far too soon it was close enough to them that a wind was picking up from it, their hair and clothes and the grass below blowing around, and the humming noise was almost deafening. It hovered there, lowering itself a little, large metal body manoeuvring so that it was almost rotating, following them as they ran._ _  
_ _  
_ _Then it started firing, large guns on either side of it shooting out bursts of bullets, and Noctis watched as his guards cried out and started to fall._ _  
_ _  
_ _“Move!” his tutor practically screamed at him, and they tried to run faster, sprinting towards the cars._ _  
_ _  
__But the bullets only chased after them._ _  
_ _  
_ Noctis wasn’t sure how long he had been walking before he heard the explosion.  
  
The further he went, the worse he felt, nausea spreading through his belly and his throat and making him wince. Memories were coming back now, and he had to stop and breathe sometimes, had to rub at his face and his eyes and try to block out the noises of men screaming in pain and bullets raining down on them. The trees seemed to close in on him from every direction, coming for him, wrapping around him and trying to make him suffocate. It was dizzying.  
  
And then the explosion, from somewhere behind him. Noctis jumped and whirled around, but he couldn’t see anything, couldn’t hear anyone when he strained to listen.  
  
He hesitated, not sure what to do. He could run back there and see what had happened. An explosion could mean _people_ were there, right? People that could help him? But then again, an explosion could mean more Niflheim soldiers had arrived and were coming to get him, to finish what they had started and drag him away.  
  
He doubted any of his dad’s men would have caused an explosion like that. Not unless they were fighting against something.  
  
Noctis groaned and wrung his hands together, still not sure what to do.  
  
He had to check. Surely, he had to check. He could stay hidden, see if it was Niflheim, and he could run away again if it seemed too dangerous. But if it _was_ the crownsguard, and he had run away when help could have been so near…  
  
He jogged back along the way he had been walking, wincing at the way it made his head ache a little, but he would rather get there quickly to catch whoever might be there. So he jogged, careful not to break any branches or disturb any piles of leaves, stepping over the ones he could see, and then he hid behind the trees once the airship started to come back into view.  
  
It was the airship itself that had exploded. It was in flames now, the metal creaking and groaning, black smoke rising up through the air along the trees. But there was no one else in sight, no signs of what had caused it to explode, no distant voices. So what had happened?  
  
Noctis frowned. Something wasn’t right here. Things just didn’t explode like that for no reason.  
  
Something moved off to the left, in the distance, barely visible. A shadow, huge and not at all human shaped, creeping through the trees, red glowing eyes visible only for a second before it began to walk away and disappear.  
  
A shiver ran down Noctis’s spine. He shouldn’t have come back here. He should have kept moving. He let his feet move now, taking slow steps backwards, trying to be as quiet as possible, and he turned around—  
  
There was a man behind him.  
  
Noctis nearly screamed, slapped his hands over his mouth at the last second to stop the noise, jumping back and nearly tripping over a vine in his haste.  
  
“Goodness!” the man said, looking nearly just as shocked. “I didn’t mean to frighten you there, boy. Are you alright?”  
  
Noctis stood still, taking him in. He was tall, maybe as tall as his dad, with slight stubble and cropped hair, and dressed in dark clothes that were dirty with mud. He had a large axe in his hand, and Noctis eyed it with a shiver.  
  
The man was still staring at him. “Are you alright there? What are you doing out here? It’s not safe to be out in these woods.”  
  
Noctis swallowed. “Well, what are _you_ doing out here then?”  
  
“Me?” the man blinked. He almost looked amused. “Collecting firewood, what else? You can’t have a good fire without some wood.”  
  
Was he mocking Noctis? His tone was awfully strange, like he was making fun of him. Noctis glanced over his shoulder, back to the burning airship. Had this man caused the explosion? Why?  
  
“But what about you?” the man said. “Do you need some help?”  
  
He wanted to say yes, _yes_ , he needed help, he was the Prince of Lucis and he had been kidnapped by imperial soldiers, he needed to get back to Insomnia right away. The words were on the tip of his tongue, ready to spill out, but he hesitated. What if this man _was_ an imperial soldier? Or what if he was someone bad? He had always been told that he should never talk to strangers, even if they seemed like they were friendly, and that axe was more than enough to make him wary.  
  
_“Sweetest tongue has sharpest tooth, and all that,” Gladio had said once after training, biting into an apple. He saw Noctis’s scrunched up face and snorted with amusement. “Don’t give me that look. It’s in one of Iris’s fairytale books.”_ _  
_ _  
_ _Noctis stared. “But what does it_ mean _?”_ _  
_ _  
_ _“Exactly that,” Ignis said from where he was sitting nearby. “People can hide their ill intentions behind a friendly facade. Never let your guard down, especially around those you don’t know.”_ _  
_ _  
_ _Gladio nodded. “Yeah, some asshole wants to invite you into their van with the promise of lollipops? You tell them where they can stick those lollipops and you get outta there.”_ _  
_ _  
_ _Ignis frowned in distaste. “Not quite the example I had in mind, but an example nonetheless.”_ _  
_ _  
_ _“Does he always talk like this?” Gladio muttered to Noctis, but still loud enough for Ignis to hear him._  
  
The memory of them now kept him strong, helped him square his shoulders and lift his chin as he said, “I’m fine. I don’t need any help.” He gave the man a wide berth as he made his way around him, heading back in the direction he had been walking in.  
  
Boots crunching over leaves and branches behind him showed that the man was following. “Are you sure? You look a little beaten up, if I may say so, and I don’t mind helping you leave this wretched place.”  
  
“I don’t need any help,” Noctis repeated. He didn’t stop walking.  
  
A hand grabbed his arm, and Noctis tensed as the man turned him around so they were looking at each other again. He still looked concerned, eyebrows drawn together. “These woods aren’t safe, son. There are wolves around.”  
  
Noctis winced, wondering if he had made a mistake, if this man _was_ safe enough to trust, if he could help him.  
  
But no, _no_ , he would do what Gladio and Ignis had told him.  
  
Noctis swallowed again, stared up at him and said, “I’ll be fine.”  
  
The hand around his arm tensed. For a moment, the man almost looked annoyed, glancing away briefly. “If you’ll just come with me—”  
  
“No way,” Noctis snapped.  
  
“—I’ll get you to safety. I promise, I won’t hurt you. I just want to help you get out of these woods. It’s not safe for you here.”  
  
“So you keep saying.” Noctis tried pulling on his arm, but the man’s grip was too tight. He glared up at him, even though his heart was hammering in his chest and he felt shaky with growing fear. “Let _go_ of me.”  
  
But the man wouldn’t let go, and Noctis started to panic, eyes on that axe still held off to the side. “Get off me!” he tried yelling, yanking on his arm. When that didn’t work, he acted on instinct. He lurched forwards and bit the man’s wrist, as hard as he could.  
  
There was a surprised shout, and the hand let go, and Noctis was stumbling backwards. He thought he heard the man mutter, something like “ _stupid boy,_ ” but he didn’t want to stick around to make sure. He quickly turned and started running, zigzagging through the trees, slapping away at the branches that wanted to scratch at him, his dizziness and headache long forgotten as adrenaline raced through him.  
  
And he kept running, even as his lungs burned, even as a stitch appeared in his side, as his bad knee started to ache. He couldn’t hear anyone behind him and, when he glanced over his shoulder, he couldn’t see anyone either, but that didn’t mean the man wasn’t following.  
  
So he kept going.  
  
  
~&~  
  
  
He didn’t know what time it was, and he was starting to feel a little worried about how dark it was becoming, when he saw it. Blue glowing shapes, peering through the gaps in the trees. Noctis approached them, heart pounding in his chest, and relief washed over him as he got close enough to the rocks.  
  
He knew these symbols. Luna had told him all about them, had shown drawings of them, had told him there were safe havens all over the world for travellers to rest at. She had said it would keep them safe from harm, from wild animals that might want to hurt them during the day, to daemons that would come after them at night. Blessed with the Oracle’s power, she had said.  
  
With what little energy he had left, he climbed up the rocks, sneakers slipping a little every now and then, his nails breaking a little as he clung and pulled himself up, but he eventually made it onto the flat surface, the blue shapes underneath his hands. They were beautiful and magical and he had never felt so relieved in his whole life, drinking in the sight of them.  
  
There was a circle of stones in the middle, a thin trail of strange coloured smoke rising into the air. He crouched down by the circle, took in the pile of sticks already there, and sighed. If only he could use magic, if only he knew _how_ to, then he could get a fire going. He bet it was going to get cold during the night, and he didn’t have anything else to cover him other than his jacket, his t-shirt and his jeans.  
  
That was okay, though. He could do it just for one night, he was sure of it. He had been in worse situations after all.  
  
Like being shot at by an imperial airship. Or like lying under the still bleeding, still warm body of his caretaker after she had been sliced down. Fire roaring in the background. All on his own with a daemon ready to tear him apart.  
  
Noctis ran his hands over his eyes, tried to force the memories away, but he couldn’t stop the way his body shuddered. It would be completely dark soon, and then the daemons would come out, and he would have to see one again for the first time in years. He would have to see those monsters that were capable of tearing people apart.  
  
But they couldn’t get him while he was on the haven. Luna had said so.  
  
He tensed as he heard something out in the trees. Something that sounded an awful lot like footsteps, crunching leaves and twigs, loud in the silence of the forest. Noctis looked around for a rock to use as those sounds got closer and closer, found one near the edge where he had climbed up. It was big enough that his fingers struggled to stretch around it, heavy enough that maybe it could do some damage if he swung it hard enough.  
  
He stood, looking in the direction the sounds were coming from, holding the rock up as something started clambering up the side of the haven. If it was that man again, the one with the axe, then he would _show_ him that he was fine and that he could take care of himself.  
  
The figure rose above the haven’s edge, stepping onto the flat ground, then stopped short when he saw Noctis standing there.  
  
It wasn’t the axe man.  
  
“For god’s sake—” the man muttered. He stepped closer, and Noctis stepped back. “What are you doing out _here_? Didn’t I tell you to stay put and wait for me?”  
  
Noctis frowned, took in the man’s clothes. He was dressed exactly like those dead soldiers back on the airship, and now that he focused on his face, he _did_ look sort of familiar.  
  
Maybe he wasn’t the axe man, but he _was_ one of the soldiers that had kidnapped him, one of the reasons he had ended up out here in the first place. But it wasn’t like he could escape; it was getting darker and there was nowhere else he could go right now.  
  
The soldier came closer, and Noctis raised his arm, holding tightly onto the rock. “What are you doing with that?” the soldier snapped out, then he lunged for him. “Huh? What are you gonna do with that?”  
  
“No, get away!” Noctis cried, trying to cling onto it, but it was useless. The soldier snatched the rock away from him, riving it out of his grasp easily, and he threw it off the side of the haven. Noctis glared at him, kept his shoulders straightened and his head high, even as he backed away. “I mean it, keep away from me!”  
  
“Yeah, sure,” the soldier snorted. “What happened to staying put in the airship like I said?”  
  
Noctis shook his head. “I don’t remember that.”  
  
“Yeah, guess you were pretty out of it at the time.” The soldier regarded him for a moment, eyes moving up and down, and then he was crouching down by the campfire. He took something out of his pocket, a small object, and then, with a few sparks, the campfire was coming to life, flames slowly and steadily growing. “Drugs must have worn off now, huh?” he said, glancing towards Noctis.  
  
Noctis swallowed, stared as the man sat down, then glanced down at his arm where the bruise was. He remembered more of it now, the way he had been kicking and fighting against them as they had dragged him on board the airship. He had managed to hit one of them in the side of the head, his sneaker knocking into them, and they had snapped at each other about drugging him to keep him calm.  
  
“You just gonna stand there all night?”  
  
Noctis glared at the back of the soldier’s head, then walked so that he was on the opposite side of the fire. He sat down and held his hands out, trying to absorb its warm.  
  
The soldier was staring at him. “So why’d you leave the airship? I said I was coming back.”  
  
Was he serious? Like Noctis would ever trust a Niflheim soldier, like he would ever just simply obey them when they had _kidnapped_ him, when this whole mess was _their_ fault, when they clearly couldn’t be trusted anyway because they wanted to hurt him and his dad. “Because I just did,” Noctis snapped out.  
  
“Well that’s stupid,” the soldier snorted. “Could’ve gotten yourself killed out here, and for what? A wander in the woods? Did you think you could get away? That you could find some help?”  
  
Maybe the axe man _could_ have helped him. Maybe he was better than this soldier, _safer_ even. Then again, maybe he was just as bad. Maybe he was from Niflheim too.  
  
Maybe he could trick this guy, make him think that it wasn’t safe to try and keep Noctis with him anymore. “I _did_ find help,” he said, and he glared over the campfire at the soldier. “He brought me here and told me to wait while he went to find others.”  
  
The soldier scoffed and started chuckling. “Yeah, _sure_ , kid. I believe ya.”  
  
“It’s true!”  
  
The soldier gave him an odd look. “Not sure if you’ve realised this or not yet, but there’s no one out here for _miles_. So you couldn’t possibly have seen anyone. There ain’t any help for you to find, I’m afraid.”  
  
But he _had_ seen someone. Noctis frowned. Was this guy just trying to trick him too, make him think that he was all alone out here? Which wasn’t true at all, it _couldn’t_ be, since he had come across that man with the axe. “I saw someone. He was out here collecting wood.”  
  
“For what?” he soldier chuckled. “He got a house here or something? Because we’re in a military zone, so I doubt there’s _anyone_ living anywhere near here.”  
  
A military zone?  
  
“Oh, you haven’t seen them yet, then,” the soldier nodded, almost to himself. “Sorry to burst your bubble, kid, but this ain’t exactly your ordinary forest. Place is crawling with imperial weapons. You know, Niflheim stuff? So you ain’t getting any civilian help. You want to get out of here alive, you stick with me.”  
  
Noctis clenched his jaw, tried to convince himself that his eyes felt warm and blurry simply because he was getting tired. The soldier had to have been lying, or exaggerating, because Noctis definitely hadn’t seen any weapons around, and that axe man had been here too.  
  
_Wait_. He thought back to the shape, the strange shadow with red, glowing eyes, back at the burning airship. Was that one of the weapons he was talking about? But it had looked _big_ , bigger than he was at least, and it was moving around on its own, like an animal.  
  
“I _did_ see someone,” he muttered eventually, because he wasn’t going to let this soldier try to trick him, he wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction.  
  
“Yeah, well, you did hit your head pretty hard,” the soldier said. He leaned back on his hands, staring upwards. “And you were doped up on some pretty strong stuff. So you were probably just seeing things.”  
  
He hated that tone, the one adults sometimes used when they thought they were _right_ about something and that he was just some kid who didn’t know any better. It grated on his nerves, especially coming from _this_ man, who had helped _kidnap_ him, who had helped hurt his tutor and his guards.  
  
“I’m going to sleep,” Noctis said, and he hated the way his voice sounded strained and shaky. He turned sideways and laid down on the rock, curling up on himself, trying to cushion his head with his arm. It didn’t work very well at first, he had to shift around a couple of times and dig out some small rocks that he ended up lying on, but he eventually found a position that didn’t quite hurt as much.  
  
The soldier just sounded amused as he said, “Sure, knock yourself out.”  
  
Noctis gritted his teeth together and squeezed his eyes shut. He shouldn’t sleep with his _enemy_ nearby. Gladio, Ignis, even his dad, they always reminded him that he should never let his guard down.  
  
But he hadn’t killed Noctis yet, and clearly he was meant to be taking him somewhere else. He couldn’t take him while it was night time, not unless he wanted to fight off the daemons too. So it was probably safe enough to get some sleep, even if he felt guilty for the fact that he would be letting his guard down, making himself vulnerable.  
  
He fell asleep anyway, too exhausted and too upset to stay awake for much longer. His eyes slowly drifted shut, the warmth from the campfire seeping into him and lulling him into sleep.  
  
  
~ &~  
  
  
_He had tried to fight them off as hard as he could. From the moment arms had wrapped around him and jerked him up into the air - his phone clattering to the ground, still calling his dad - to the moment they had him on board the airship, barking out orders to each other and to whoever was flying the thing. He had kicked and yelled and scratched, but it was useless. He was useless against three grown, strong men._ _  
_ _  
_ _And when they had held him down, when they pricked his arm with a needle, he had been filled with dread for whatever might happen to him. So he had backed up into a corner, brought his knees to his chest, all the while keeping an eye on the soldiers._ _  
_ _  
_ _He didn’t know how long they had been flying for, the airship rumbling and humming all around them. Long enough that his eyes had started drooping and he had to struggle to keep them open. His head had felt heavy, weighed down. It must have been whatever they had injected him with._ _  
_ _  
_ _The others didn’t see it, but Noctis did. A flash of red behind them, like a laser, and then the airship was lurching violently to the side with a crashing noise echoing around them. A hole had torn through one wall and gone through another, and now they were careening through the air, falling back down to ground level._ _  
_ _  
_ _Noctis clung onto a pipe running up the wall, hanging on for dear life as the soldiers yelled and cried out, and the wind seemed to scream through the whole airship. Whatever had hit them had done a good job, and they were left plummeting to their deaths._ _  
_ _  
_ _He squeezed his eyes shut, thinking of his dad, wishing he could see him, wishing he could hear his voice._ _  
_ _  
_ _“Watch out!” someone cried._ _  
_ _  
_ _The airship collided into something. Noctis’s grip on the pipe was ripped away as the airship seemed to fall and roll. The back of his head hit something else, and stars exploded in his vision, and he was left to toss and roll with the ship until it finally,_ finally _, fell still._ _  
_ _  
_ _And then he blacked out._  
  
He remembered coming to the first time, with the soldier’s face hovering over his and telling him to get up, muttering and cursing to himself when Noctis couldn’t even move. He had said something about waiting right there, that he was not to move _at all_ , and he would be back soon, but it had been lost to him when Noctis had fallen unconscious again, pulled back into darkness, helpless to fight against it.  
  
It was kind of the same now. The soldier’s face was above his when Noctis jerked awake, and a hand was coming down, slapping over his mouth, the other hand pinning him to the ground before he could do anything. Noctis started struggling, shouting against the soldier’s palm, only to have that hand quickly removed and slapping against his cheek.  
  
“Shut up,” the soldier hissed. “Or you’ll get us both killed.”  
  
Noctis blinked back the tears stinging his eyes, his cheek feeling both hot and shivery. The soldier didn’t seem to care, had his hands on Noctis’s shoulders and was dragging him to his feet before pointing off into the trees.  
  
It was morning again, if the light blue sky visible through the leaves above was anything to go by, and the campfire looked like it had been snuffed out. Noctis frowned, looking in the direction the soldier was pointing at, and then found himself swallowing past a lump in his throat. “What is that?” he murmured.  
  
“One of the weapons I told you about,” the soldier muttered quietly. “You keep your mouth shut and you follow me, you understand? If that thing hears us, if it finds out we’re here, then we’re _dead_. You got it?”  
  
Noctis could only stare at the shape through the trees. It was shaped like a dog, or a wolf, only much larger and made of metal. Like a robot. It was walking slowly through the trees, and, when it turned its head enough, Noctis could make out its red eyes.  
  
“Why would it kill you?” he managed to murmur after a moment or two. “If it’s a weapon from Niflheim, then it wouldn’t kill you.”  
  
“It’s a prototype,” the soldier said. “They’re _all_ prototypes here, and they ain’t programmed to not attack certain people.” His hand was suddenly fisting in Noctis’s jacket, pulling him close, and he bent down so they were eye to eye, barely a gap in between them. “If one of those things finds me because of you, then I’ll kill you myself, understand? So don’t be a hero, don’t do anything stupid, and we can both get outta here.”  
  
Noctis swallowed again and nodded.  
  
He wondered what his dad would say - or Gladio or Ignis - to the fact that he was going off with an enemy soldier, following him as quietly as he could into the forest as they kept a wide berth between them and the robot wolf. Would his dad be disappointed in him? Would he be annoyed that Noctis was choosing to stay with the soldier instead of trying to escape for himself?  
  
It just seemed like the safer option. He could either stick with the soldier and hopefully get out of the forest, or he could run and try to help himself, possibly get lost, maybe even get _eaten_ by one of those _things_.  
  
“ _The lesser of two evils,_ ” wasn’t that what Ignis sometimes said about these kinds of choices?  
  
So he kept quiet and stayed close, heart hammering in his chest when they had to hide behind a group of trees as one of those large wolves walked past nearby, the movements of its legs and the stamps of his feet terribly loud in the otherwise silent forest. He wondered if _this_ was why there were no birds or animals. Maybe they had all been scared away by these robots. Maybe they had been eaten.  
  
When the wolf seemed to stop and stay in place, only feet away from them and behind several trees, the soldier crouched down and kept moving. Noctis crawled on his hands and knees, as slowly and quietly as he could, wincing at the bits of branches and rocks that stuck into the skin of his palms.  
  
From strange men with axes, to imperial soldiers, to metal wolves—he was probably going to die out here after all. It just seemed like his chances of surviving were getting worse and worse.  
  
There was a noise, like a growl, like it was letting out a heavy breath, except it sounded _nothing_ like an actual animal. The noise was strange, groaning and metallic. It sent shivers through Noctis’s body, and he held still, heart pounding in his chest, terrified that he had made too much noise and it knew where he was.  
  
But it didn’t. It let out another metallic growl, and then it continued moving, walking away from them. Noctis didn’t feel like he could breathe properly until those heavy footsteps had faded into the distance.  
  
And they kept moving, heading in the same direction, and Noctis had to wonder if the soldier really knew where he was going, if they were trying to reach some particular place. It made him nervous, like maybe he should just run off and try to survive on his own after all.  
  
It wasn’t until they made it safely past another wolf, waiting for the forest to become silent once more, when the soldier leaned back against a tree and closed his eyes. “Shoulda gone back to the airship,” he muttered, almost to himself.  
  
Noctis blinked at him. “It blew up.”  
  
“What?” the soldier snapped out, his head whipping around to look at him. “What do you mean ‘it blew up’?”  
  
“It exploded,” Noctis said. “You didn’t hear it?”  
  
The soldier looked _angry_ , like Noctis was the one to blame. “Well _shit_ , how the hell did that happen?”  
  
“I don’t know,” he mumbled. “I was walking away, and it blew up. Maybe that axe man did it.”  
  
“Oh, for the love of—” the soldier ran his hands over his face, then glared at Noctis again. “For the last time, we’re the only ones out here besides those weapons. There is _no one_ living out here. The only possible buildings are military buildings, and no one is in them.” His hand lashed out, shoving Noctis’s shoulder. “So _enough_ with the bullshit.”  
  
Noctis glared back at him. “I _did_ see someone, and I don’t care what you say—”  
  
“Keep your voice down, you little shit!” the soldier snapped out, and then he was shoving Noctis again, hand pushing against his chest hard.  
  
Noctis stumbled backwards, unable to stop himself from falling down to the ground, and then his head was smacking into something hard and solid. His vision went black for a moment, his ears started ringing. It felt like he was swirling and spinning in dreams, the world twisting around even though everything was dark.  
  
When he opened his eyes again, the soldier was hovering over him, face angry. “Get up,” he was hissing out. “You’ve probably alerted the whole damn forest to where we are. Get up!”  
  
He couldn’t move. He couldn’t even open his mouth to speak. There was something warm and wet on the back of his head, making his hair stick together, and he groaned at the feeling, at the pain lancing through his entire skull, the way his brain seemed to feel like it was both expanding and pressing down on him.  
  
“Get up, _now_!”  
  
It was like being on the airship again. He had been feeling _better_ , the pain had been going away and he hadn’t felt so awful anymore. But now it was back and even worse than before. He could feel tears building in his eyes as he tried to move, tried to get his hands underneath him to push himself up, but even the slightest movement made him _hurt_ , made him want to throw up.  
  
The soldier growled and grabbed him by the arm, trying to drag him upwards, and Noctis nearly blacked out again. Nausea swept through him. He fell back down to the ground, onto his side, and he threw up onto the leaves.  
  
“For _fuck’s_ —” the soldier threw his hands up into the air. “You know what? I’ve had it. You can die out here. You ain’t worth the gil.”  
  
With that, he turned on his heel and started walking away. Noctis could only whimper and watch him go, wanting to yell at him to come back, to come help him, because he couldn’t walk, he couldn’t _move_ , and it was like that night all over again—  
  
Something leapt out of the trees. A mass of metal and teeth and it was on the soldier within seconds, and he was screaming as it started swiping massive paws at him and throwing him from side to side with its powerful jaws. There was blood and ripping and breaking sounds, and still he _screamed_ , and Noctis felt his heart hammering in his chest, his throat, but he was still so _slow_ , he couldn’t move.  
  
Oh  _god_ , he couldn't move. He couldn't hide away before that thing would turn on him.  
  
The sounds stopped, and the metal wolf threw what little was left of the soldier off to the side. It turned its gaze on Noctis, red eyes piercing and awful, and it started marching towards him. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to stop from shaking, trying to stop from needing to throw up again—  
  
The sound of metal pounding into metal, over and over, and Noctis managed to open his eyes enough to see the wolf being violently knocked away, its robotic head ripping away from the rest of its body. It fell to the side, unmoving, as the head rolled away into the trees.  
  
And there was a face above Noctis now, familiar and concerned. Dark clothes, dark hair, dark beard—  
  
_Dad?_  
  
“Dad…” he managed to croak out.  
  
“It’s alright now,” his dad murmured, hands reaching out for him, and he was lifted up into the air, his dad shushing him even when he groaned at the pain lancing through him from the movement. He held Noctis close to him, wrapping him in his arms, leaning him into his chest as he said, “I’ve got you. It’ll be alright now.”  
  
_Dad._  
  
He couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer, and he wanted to escape from the pain that had his head throbbing and aching with every movement his dad took. With his head resting on his dad’s shoulders, he gave into unconsciousness.  
  
  
~ &~  
  
  
Something was wrong.  
  
He stood in the forest, and it was completely empty except for himself. The trees were black shadows against a deep crimson light that came from all sides. He squinted, trying to see if there was anything there, if things were moving, but he seemed to be all alone. When he tried to walk forwards, it was like he was moving through water, his limbs far too heavy, so much that he had to _drag_ them. Pressure and vibrations seemed to run through his head.  
  
His phone was in his hands, a message already on the screen.  
  
_You need to wake up_.  
  
“Why?” he asked softly, and his voice echoed around him.  
  
_Your brain is bleeding. It’s not safe. You need to wake up._  
  
There was something crawling against the red light. Black lines, like branches, or vines, creeping their way across, moving and wiggling like they had minds of their own, and something _cold_ was seeping into Noctis’s brain at the same time, moving around in the same way. The red light seemed to grow dimmer for a moment, and then brightened again.  
  
_You need to wake up!_  
  
  
~ &~  
  
  
When he opened his eyes again, he was lying on a bed. His head still _ached_ , making him want to cry out even as he struggled to turn it to look on either side of him, but he didn’t feel as nauseous as before.  
  
He was in a bedroom of some sorts, a fireplace opposite him, flames crackling and casting an orange and yellow light across the room. An axe and a few spare chopped logs lay nearby. There was a window to his right, curtains open to reveal the forest outside, not that he could see much of it. It must have been evening, or night time already, because the trees were dark shapes past the glass.  
  
“Dad?” he croaked out. He hoped he hadn’t been imagining him, that it had really been him instead of some dream.  
  
There was an open doorway, off to his left, and footsteps came closer at his voice. His dad stood there for a moment in silence before he came closer, eyes crinkled and kind as he leaned over the bed to take hold of Noctis’s hand. “How are you feeling?” he asked quietly.  
  
But Noctis could only say, “Dad.” It hadn’t been a dream, his dad was really here, he had _saved_ him. _Dad, Dad, Dad._  
  
“Shh.” Fingers gently stroked across his forehead, brushing some of his hair out of the way. “It’s alright, I’m here now. And you need to take it easy; you’ve had a very nasty bump to the head, I’m afraid.”  
  
Noctis stared up at him, tried to get his brain to work properly to form the words. “But—how—”  
  
“Shh, Noctis,” his dad said. “Just get some rest. You need to heal a little more.”  
  
But he didn’t want to rest. He wanted to stay awake, with his dad. He wanted to be sure that he wouldn’t just disappear, that this wasn’t a dream. Noctis squeezed his eyes shut, managed to choke out, “Stay? Please?”  
  
“Of course,” his dad said. He sat beside Noctis, hands moving to either side of his head, fingers pressing to his temples, eyes gazing down at him strangely. “Sleep,” he said, and Noctis’s vision quickly faded out to black.  
  
  
~ &~  
  
  
The forest again, with the shadowed trees lurking all around him and the strange red light on the horizon. When he stepped forward, it felt like he was dragging weights, and something vibrated against his skin, crawling along him. It was cold and it made him nervous.  
  
There was a strange groaning noise, echoing from the trees in every direction. Like metal. It sounded like groaning and straining metal, and it got louder every time he tried to move.  
  
His phone was in his hand again, with that same message. _You need to wake up!_  
  
“But I’m so tired,” Noctis murmured.  
  
Another message. _But the wolves will get you!_  
  
“I’m safe,” Noctis said. “Dad’s here. He’ll save me.”  
  
He took a few stumbling steps forward, wincing as that groaning noise echoed around him again, piercing through his head. Everything went black for a moment. Why did he still feel so sick and cold, why did his head still hurt so much?  
  
Why did it feel like there were things, _dark things_ , watching him from the trees with hungry eyes, waiting to lunge at him and eat him?  
  
Those vines began to crawl along the red light again in jerky movements. They seemed to glow a little, a purple mist following them wherever they went. It didn’t feel right, something about them wasn’t right _at all_.  
  
_The healing is wrong,_ a new message on his phone said. _Corrupted. The healing is dark._  
  
“I don’t understand,” Noctis said to his phone.  
  
_There’s a wolf by your bed! Wake up!_  
  
  
~ &~  
  
  
“Stupid boy,” his dad muttered. He was sitting by the window and staring out of it, off to Noctis’s right. “If you had simply listened to me, then none of this would have happened, would it?”  
  
Noctis frowned. “Dad?” he tried to sit up, found he couldn’t quite make it. His head still hurt, and the back of his hair felt crusty when he touched it, but at least the pain wasn’t nearly as bad as before. At least he could actually move now without feeling like he was going to throw up.  
  
“Noctis,” his dad said, coming closer. “Don’t move. You still need to rest as much as you can.”  
  
Noctis swallowed and stared up at him. “What happened?”  
  
“You had a bad fall and hurt your head,” his dad murmured. His hand came down and pressed against Noctis’s hair gently. “I’ve healed the worst of the damage, but you need your rest now.”  
  
His dad had healed him? With magic? The thought almost made him smile, but his confusion made him frown. “I don’t get it,” he said. “How are you here? How’d you find me?”  
  
His dad smiled at that. “Ah, it was the smoke from the airship that led me to you.”  
  
Noctis couldn’t help but return his smile a little, even if he was still confused about the whole thing. “What about the crownsguard?”  
  
“Yes, soon, soon. They are still on their way, and they should be here with us soon enough. The airship’s smoke should lead them to you.”  
  
If it was still burning. How long did metal burn for anyway? “It was so scary,” Noctis murmured. “It exploded.”  
  
“Yes,” his dad chuckled, hand stroking his hair gently, “I know. And the fire still burns. It should be more than enough of a signal for them.”  
  
Noctis could only sigh, lying back against the pillows, and he stared up at the ceiling. “I can’t wait to get home,” he murmured. He was feeling sleepy again, his eyes drooping despite that he wanted to stay awake so much longer, to bask in the warmth of the fire and his dad’s presence.  
  
His dad was sat next to him on the bed, his hand still stroking along his hair. “Yes, trying to take you was a ridiculous notion,” he muttered. “I assure you, I’ll see that it won’t happen again.” His hand moved again, fingers pressing against Noctis’s temple, and he said, “Sleep now.”  
  
Noctis opened his mouth to protest, but he couldn’t get a single word out before sleep was taking hold again, wrenching him away from his dad.  
  
  
~&~  
  
  
His little friend was waiting there, sat amongst the dark trees, bright green and nearly glowing among the shadows. _You need to wake up!_ the message on his phone said. _You need to leave!_  
  
Noctis stared at his phone, then looked at the fox. “Why? What’s wrong?”  
  
The fox turned around and started running.  
  
“Hey!” Noctis called. “Wait!”  
  
He ran after it, pushing back the branches that tried to scratch and claw at him. The groaning noise was back, growing louder and louder the faster he ran, chasing after him. The shadows around them seemed darker than before, the red light more vivid. It felt like cold fingers were probing at his brain, running over his skull and through his hair.  
  
And still the fox ran, and Noctis chased after it. “Wait!” he called again. They ran and ran through the trees, and he thought back to those robot wolves, half-worried they might suddenly appear and come and get him.  
  
There was a cabin up ahead. Noctis slowed down as they reached it, as the fox came to a stop on the steps and stared back at him, waiting.  
  
He made his way up the steps. The door was ajar, creaking a little even though there was no breeze, no wind. In the middle of the door, several claw marks had been carved into the wood, scraping downwards. “Dad?” Noctis called out. He shoved the door open and stepped inside, hesitating at the long corridor before him.  
  
There was an open door on the other end, orange light seeping through. On either side of him, on the walls and along the floor, were more claw marks. It looked like something had torn its way through the cabin, causing destruction wherever it went.  
  
_This isn’t a safe place,_ the message on his phone read. The fox started walking ahead of him, its fur raised up along its back, and it snarled a little at the open door. _You need to get out! There’s a wolf by your bed! What big teeth it has!_  
  
The metal groaning from outside seemed to be following him again, coming in through the walls, and, with it, was the faint sound of heaving breaths. It sounded like a beast, like something huge.  
  
Like a wolf.  
  
“Dad?” Noctis murmured, and he stepped closer to that door, grimacing when the breathing and the groaning grew louder and louder.  
  
_They’re coming! It’s not safe! Get away from the wolves!_  
  
The fire was still crackling away in the fireplace, orange and yellow light flickering along the walls. The bed was empty, as if it had never been slept in, and beside it was a fake wolf, a model, like someone had taken a real wolf and had frozen it in time forever. It stood beside the bed, staring at the pillows, its teeth bared and sharp.  
  
_You need to leave!_ The fox ran forward and jumped against the wolf, as if to kick it. It landed back on the floor and turned around to face Noctis, letting out a squeak.  
  
Red eyes appeared at the window, large and vivid and peering inside to look at him.  
  
And the message on his phone said, _Get out, get out, get out!_  
  
  
~ &~  
  
  
When Noctis’s eyes snapped open, it was to an empty room and to loud, metal footsteps outside. He pressed his hand to his mouth, stifling a gasp, and quietly slipped off the bed and over to the window, peering out into the forest. It was dark out there, and the lights from inside made it hard to really see anything, but he could still make out the slight movement in the trees, a black shape prowling around nearby. Red eyes glowing in the dark.  
  
It mustn’t have seen him yet. If it had, it would be charging in here already, right?  
  
Noctis looked around the room again. “Dad?” he called out, trying to keep his voice as quiet as possible. Where was he? Had he left? Had he gone outside?  
  
No, his dad wouldn’t leave him alone like that. He wouldn’t take any chances, not after Niflheim had just tried to kidnap him.  
  
Unless there was something dangerous nearby, and he had gone off to fight it, so that it wouldn’t hurt Noctis.  
  
He looked back out the window, at the shadow he could see out there, heart already hammering in his chest. It was probably better for him to stay inside where it was safe, that’s what his dad would want, except was it really safe when it was dark enough for the daemons to show up? Could they come inside the building?  
  
Noctis went through the doorway he had seen his dad in before. It came out to a small hallway. The door to his left opened up to a small bathroom, and the open door on his right seemed to lead into a kitchen, both were empty, with surfaces covered in dust, like no one had been here for a long time.  
  
The main door was at the end of the corridor. He dashed for it instantly, opening it as quietly as he could, and he stepped out into the forest, listening for any signs of his dad nearby.  
  
There were more shadows out here, more loud footsteps among the trees. Noctis shivered. What should he do? What would his dad want him to do? Should he stay inside and hope that his dad would come back soon, or should he try to run? The daemons could come out and get him, and the robot wolves were already here. If he stayed, there was no way of knowing how long he could stay safe for. If he ran, he could try and reach that haven from before, but again the wolves and the daemons could get him.  
  
_The lesser of two evils._  
  
The decision was made for him. Glowing eyes peered at him from the darkened trees, coming closer and closer, and Noctis’s heart was suddenly in his throat. One of the robot wolves had seen him, it had _seen him_ and it was coming right for him. He could hide, he could run straight back into the building and find somewhere to try and hide away, except the wolf would still come after him then, wouldn’t it? And then all the others would know he was here, and he would have them all smashing the building up, trying to tear it down to find him, and then who knew what kind of rubble he would be buried under after, _if_ he survived.  
  
Noctis pressed a hand to his mouth, unable to take his eyes away as the wolf came closer and closer. Lights coming from the building’s windows glinted off its metal body. Its eyes, glowing crimson, were locked straight onto him.  
  
Noctis turned and ran, and the wolf gave chase.  
  
“Dad!” he yelled out, hating the way his voice sounded like it was simply swallowed up by the trees and the shadows around them, like it would never reach anyone’s ears but his own. “Dad, help me!”  
  
Behind him, the wolf sounded like a giant monster, its metal paws slamming against the ground and breaking fallen branches as it chased after him. Noctis weaved his way through the trees as best as he could considering there was very little light. He wished he knew what time it was. If it was nearly dawn, then the sun would be shining soon, it would light his way, make it easier for him to see.  
  
But if it was night, then it would be completely dark soon, pitch black, and then he would be stuck in the dark with these monsters.  
  
There were other noises behind him, other shapes when he glanced over his shoulder. The robot wolves, interested in the commotion, coming to join their fellow wolf in the hunt.  
  
“Dad!” he yelled again, louder this time, wincing. He was only doing what the soldier had warned him of, drawing the attention of all of these weapons, letting them know exactly where he was.  
  
This was all their fault. If only those soldiers hadn’t come and attacked their group, if only they hadn’t tried to kidnap him, if only Niflheim would just _leave them alone_.  
  
It was too dark, _it was too dark_ , he could hardly see in front of him to know where he was going. He tripped on something, on a branch or a rock or _something_ , and he went crashing down to the ground, the skin on his palms tearing open as he tried to brace himself. He gasped, tried to get back up, looking over his shoulder to see the robot wolf leaping for him, others behind it getting closer and closer—  
  
Red flashing lights, like lasers, shooting straight through the wolf. It lurched off to the side with a crash, its head ripping away from its body. The red lights doubled back around, aimed for the other wolves. There were flashes and sparks of electricity as the lights hit their bodies, ripping up metal and wires like they were made of paper. Smoke leaked from the holes, black and purple and fading away into nothing.  
  
Noctis clenched his hands into fists, not sure what to do, watching as those lights tore up more wolves that came. He squinted at them, tried to make out what they were, and—were those _swords_? Weapons? They reminded him of his dad and his weapons, of that night so long ago when he had attacked that giant monster again and again with his swords, but those were _blue_ , not _red_.  
  
“Noctis,” a voice snapped out, and he turned to see his dad approaching him, barely able to make out his features as he leaned down.  
  
“I’m sorry!” Noctis gasped out. “You weren’t there, you were _gone_ , and those things were there, I had to run—”  
  
His dad shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. Let’s get you out of here now, hmm?” His hands came down, picked Noctis up under his armpits, and he was lifted into the air, held close to his dad’s body despite the fact that he could walk just fine now, that his head no longer hurt.  
  
He squirmed a little, wrapping his arms around those broad shoulders, clinging onto the back of his cloak. “Dad, the daemons—”  
  
“Don’t you worry about the daemons,” his dad said into his ear. “I’ll take care of everything.” His hand pressed against the side of Noctis’s head, fingers pressing into his temple as he murmured, “Sleep.”  
  
He didn’t want to sleep, tried to protest it, clenched his hands further into his dad’s cloak. But his eyes were drifting shut anyway, and he fell into his dad’s grip, sleep overtaking him instantly.  
  
  
~&~  
  
  
“He’s here!”  
  
“Your Highness! Noctis!”  
  
“Get the medics over here now!”  
  
Noctis could only barely open his eyes, frowning, confused more at the hard surface beneath him than anything else. Bright light pierced through his skull and made him wince, made him turn his face away for a moment. There was an explosion of noises. Footsteps rushing over to him, the sounds of engines, bangs like doors being slammed shut, and he groaned in frustration, feeling beyond confused now. When he looked up, it was to a sky that was light blue, the sun barely rising, unbroken by any trees or leaves.  
  
He moved his hands, got them underneath himself and began to push his body upwards, but—  
  
“No, don’t move,” someone said, and a hand gently pressed him back down onto the ground. “Let the medics look you over first before we move you.”  
  
He stared at the face above him, still more confused than anything else. “Cor?”  
  
Cor’s face was as serious as ever, but there was a strange look in his eyes, his eyebrows drawn together as he stared down at Noctis.  
  
Noctis frowned back up at him, and then looked around as best as he could. There were fields off to his right, stretching on for miles and miles, disappearing into the horizon. The forest from before seemed to be on his left, although it was still quite a distance away, leaving him safe from any wolves that might want to attack them.  
  
Well, if there were any wolves _left_.  
  
“Dad?” Noctis murmured. He looked back up at Cor still hovering over him. “Where’s Dad? Where’d he go?”  
  
Cor’s frown deepened. “Your father is still in the Crown City, Your Highness.”  
  
Noctis hesitated, looked back at the forest. There was smoke rising up from the trees, thin and dark, and he wondered if that was the airship still burning away. “No, he was here,” he said, turning back to Cor. “He saved me from the wolves.”  
  
“Wolves?” Cor asked. “Your Highness, I assure you, he hasn’t left Insomnia. He’s waiting for us to return you to him.”  
  
But—Noctis had _seen_ him, had felt his arms wrapped around him, had watched as his swords had torn metal beasts apart just to protect him. His dad had taken care of him, had brought him to safety, had healed up his wounds with his magic.  
  
Hadn’t he?  
  
He didn’t really get a chance to ask more, or to try and convince Cor of what had happened. Medics were closing in on him, towering over him and prodding at him, hands feeling around his head and his body to check for injuries. And then, soon enough, he was being moved onto a stretcher and loaded up into one of the vans on the road, Cor at his side the whole time.  
  
“We’ll get you home, Your Highness,” he said as the van’s engine came to life. He had barely taken his eyes away from Noctis ever since they had arrived. “You’re safe now.”  
  
Noctis merely nodded, clenching his jaw to keep everything from spilling out. He had been safe before, he wanted to say. He had been safe when his dad had protected him, had kept him hidden from the wolves and the daemons, when he had taken those robots apart to stop them from hurting him.  
  
But then...where was he now and why had he left Noctis all alone?  
  
It all seemed to blur into one. The engine of the van, Cor talking with the medics that were travelling with them, the voices coming from the radio next to the driver. Noctis let it all wash over him and simply kept his eyes on the van’s ceiling, staying quiet, still confused over what Cor had told him.  
  
If his dad was still in Insomnia, then who was that they were leaving behind? Who had helped Noctis, who had saved his life? Who had healed his injuries so that he was able to move around again without anything hurting, without it feeling like his brain was about to explode?  
  
It had happened. Right? That had all really happened?  
  
He dreaded the idea that maybe his dad had left the city without telling anyone, had rushed out to save Noctis himself, and now they were leaving him behind. The thought left him cold and shivery, and it took every bit of willpower not to jump up and throw himself out of the van to rush back to that forest, to help save his dad like he had saved him.  
  
“Crown City, up ahead,” the driver called back to them.  
  
Well, Noctis thought to himself, it looked like it was too late to do anything about it now.  
  
  
~ &~  
  
  
He must have fallen asleep at some point, still tired after everything that had happened. The way everyone kept moving around him so quickly and the movement of the van didn’t help; it made him feel dizzy and tired, like he couldn’t quite keep up.  
  
When he opened his eyes again, he was no longer in the van. The bed was soft underneath him, the lights above bright and piercing his eyes, and his dad was sitting in a chair to his right.  
  
“Dad!” Noctis gasped. He quickly sat upright on the bed, reaching out for him.  
  
His dad’s head snapped up, and then he was leaning over Noctis, large hands on his shoulders, gently pushing him back down onto the pillows. “Easy,” he said, and his voice was as soothing and rumbling as ever. “Please, take it easy on yourself. You have been through quite a lot.”  
  
Noctis shoved those hands out of the way, both frustrated and _relieved_ , and he wrapped his arms around his dad’s shoulders, trying to keep him as close as possible. “I’m sorry!” he said. “I’m sorry we nearly left you there.”  
  
One of those large arms wrapped around him, while a hand came up to rest on his forehead, brushing his hair back, the way he did when he would check for a temperature whenever Noctis was sick. “You needn’t apologise for anything,” his dad murmured in his ear. “You have done nothing wrong.”  
  
“We left you behind,” Noctis said. “At the forest. You came to save me and we left you behind.”  
  
“Noct. _Noct_.” His dad sat down on the edge of the bed and helped lay Noctis back down on the pillows, keeping him there with his hands on his shoulders, his grip just a little more firm this time. “Noct, I’m afraid you’re confused. I haven’t been away from Insomnia.” Noctis could only stare at him, and his dad smiled weakly, his large hand carding through his hair, warm and gentle and soothing. “How do you feel? They’d said you had a head injury, although not as bad as all the blood would have indicated. Would you like me to get the doctor?”  
  
Noctis shook his head quietly, desperately wanting to say that his head injury wasn’t as bad anymore because his dad had _healed_ it, he had made it all better himself. Instead, he glanced down, picked at the soft hospital blanket covering him, feeling a little awkward. “Um. How long was I gone?”  
  
“Two days.” His dad’s mouth pulled downwards at that, like even the thought of it made him unhappy.  
  
“What about my tutor? What about the guards?” they had all been injured and in such a terrible situation when Noctis had been taken away, and he dreaded asking about them. “Are they okay?”  
  
“Your tutor is just fine, he’s healing well,” his dad said. “As are the guards. They did have wounds from the battle, but they’ll be well soon enough.”  
  
“So they’re not dead?”  
  
His dad’s hand moved from his hair and down to his shoulder, squeezing gently. “No. We suffered no losses from this, I assure you.”  
  
Noctis let out a sigh, nodding. So no one else had died for him then, like that awful, awful night years ago. “Good.”  
  
He looked up at his dad, at his crinkled, kind eyes, at his warm smile. His beard, his hair, his clothes. Noctis was glad they hadn’t left him behind after all, but at the same time he didn’t _understand_. If his dad had never left Insomnia these past few days, then how had he been at the forest? How had he saved Noctis’s life, how had he healed him?  
  
Maybe it had simply been a dream. Maybe it was like that soldier had said, maybe hitting his head had made him see things that weren’t there.  
  
But then who had kept him safe from the daemons and the wolves? Who had taken him out of the forest and left him there on the road for Cor and the crownsguard to find?  
  
“Noct.” His dad looked concerned again, smile a little more unsure when Noctis looked back up to meet his eyes. “Are you sure you don’t want me to get the doctor? Are you feeling well?”  
  
Noctis stared at him in silence for a moment, and then nodded, giving him a small smile. It didn’t matter how he had been rescued and taken care of in the forest. He was _here_ now, he was back home and with his dad, and Niflheim had failed in kidnapping him. It had been an awful couple of days, but it was over now. They were all safe.  
  
“I’m sure,” Noctis said. “I don’t even need to _be_ in here, I’m fine.”  
  
“It’s far better to be safe than sorry,” his dad chuckled. He sat back in his chair, though he held onto Noctis’s hand resting on the bedspread. “I imagine Ignis and Gladio would like to come and visit you soon, Ignis especially. I fear he is rather cross with me and everyone else.”  
  
That thought made Noctis snort with amusement, and he struggled to fight back a smile. As if Ignis would ever act that way with _the king_. “He is?”  
  
His dad smiled at him. “Well, he hasn’t said as much, but he has that look. I feel as though he wished he had been there with you.”  
  
That sounded like Ignis alright. “Stupid,” Noctis muttered. “He would’ve gotten hurt.”  
  
His dad nodded at that, eyes turning a little more serious for a moment. “Most likely,” he said, and he leaned forwards, placing his other hand over both of theirs. “Would you like me to send for him and Gladio, then?”  
  
Noctis smiled at his dad. “Nah, not yet,” he said, and he tugged his dad’s hand closer to his chest, rolling over on the bed so that he was facing him. He would really like to see Ignis and Gladio, but, for now, he just wanted to spend some time with his dad. Just for a little while longer. “Let them wait a bit. You can stay here instead.”  
  
“Very well.” His dad smiled back at him, and he took his free hand and pressed it against Noctis’s head once more, stroking his fingers through his hair. “You’ll hear no objections from me.”  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Really, the only reason there are references to Little Red Riding Hood in this is because this was originally _vaguely_ inspired by a game that's loosely based on the fairytale XD
> 
> You can find me at [tumblr](https://ivorydice.tumblr.com).


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